Yoru had a great deal of respect for this man.
Or rather, he respected Might Duy, Might Guy, and even Rock Lee.
Now, he was practically one of them himself.
Inside the weapon shop, a loud crash resounded, making the ground tremble slightly.
"I sincerely apologize."
Might Duy, seeing the shopkeeper struggling to carry a pile of weight training equipment, quickly helped him place them on the ground with an apologetic smile.
"Tch..."
The shopkeeper looked at Might Duy with a hint of impatience and said, "Just take them and go!"
Watching as Might Duy turned to leave, the shopkeeper muttered under his breath, "What's the point of only training taijutsu? He'll be a Genin for life."
Might Duy heard those words, and his body froze for a brief moment, but he didn't turn back. Instead, he picked up his newly bought weights and strode away with large steps.
So blind.
Seeing this scene, a phrase suddenly surfaced in Yoru's mind.
He knew the true power of the so-called "Eternal Genin," Might Duy. His strength was monstrous beyond belief.
But just as in the original story, Might Duy had an incredibly good temper. Even after being ridiculed, he simply endured it and walked away.
Shaking his head, Yoru stepped into the shop.
"Give me two of those weighted pieces... Just two will be enough."
"You want those too?"
The shopkeeper looked at Yoru in surprise. He hadn't expected such a young kid to be so enthusiastic about taijutsu. Nevertheless, he quickly retrieved two pieces for him.
They looked like ordinary iron plates, but when Yoru lifted them, he found them to be surprisingly heavy.
"Heavier than I expected… Seems like I won't be able to use them right away."
Yoru sighed in mild frustration.
But since he had already bought them, he would just keep them for later.
As he stepped out of the shop, his eyes flickered slightly as he searched for Might Duy's departing figure.
It didn't take long to find him—he stood out too much.
Following Might Duy into a secluded forest, Yoru saw the man strap on those terrifyingly heavy weights before throwing himself into a grueling training routine.
The sheer intensity of it left Yoru speechless.
No wonder this man could open the Eighth Gate and single-handedly take down four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
If that weapon shopkeeper knew the true extent of Might Duy's power, he'd probably have his jaw shattered from shock.
Watching Might Duy train, Yoru gradually realized just how crude his own training methods were in comparison.
This was an unexpected surprise.
Without hesitation, Yoru memorized every aspect of Might Duy's training regimen.
Even though Might Duy was just a Genin now, Yoru firmly believed that in all of Konoha, no one could surpass him in taijutsu.
Following his methods could only be beneficial.
After discovering Might Duy's training ground, Yoru made a habit of secretly observing his sessions whenever he had free time from his own training.
Since he lacked a Byakugan or Sharingan, he had no choice but to carefully and diligently memorize everything through sheer effort.
Nearly a month passed like this. Under Might Duy's unknowing guidance, Yoru's taijutsu skills improved tremendously. His physical strength and speed had reached a level comparable to a proper Genin.
During this time, he also managed to barely equip the two weights he had purchased earlier.
His Tremor Force had strengthened significantly as well.
In a clearing, Yoru clenched his fist, a faint white glow shimmering around it before he swung it towards a wooden training post.
CRACK!
The air seemed to fracture like a shattered mirror.
His fist never actually touched the post. It stopped a full foot away, yet the wood splintered under the force, finally collapsing into fragments.
"My Tremor Force has improved a lot," Yoru murmured, his face showing a hint of excitement.
If that Uchiha Izumiya from before tried using his C-rank Fireball Jutsu against him now, Yoru was confident he could shatter it in a single punch, leaving not even a single ember behind!
However, in the past month, he had yet to witness Might Duy practicing the Eight Gates technique. That was a bit disappointing.
More than anything, he wanted to understand the power of the Eight Gates.
"I should check again and see if Might Duy is practicing the Eight Gates today."
After some thought, Yoru turned and headed towards the familiar training grounds.
Yet before he even reached the streets, a young man wearing a forehead protector and a standard-issue Chūnin uniform approached from the opposite direction.
He was a Chūnin.
Konoha's Genin wore forehead protectors, Chūnin had specialized uniforms, and Jōnin had uniforms with a slightly different pocket arrangement from Chūnin.
This system made it easy to distinguish a ninja's rank and village affiliation at a glance.
Only those who had surpassed regular Jōnin—individuals whose names were renowned across the entire ninja world—could afford to disregard the standard attire and wear whatever they pleased.
Such people no longer needed clothing to define their identity.
The Chūnin's gaze landed on Yoru, his expression immediately turning cold and arrogant as he strode directly toward him.
"Do you need something?"
Facing the approaching Chūnin, Yoru asked calmly.
Even though it was obvious the guy was looking for trouble, Yoru showed no fear and remained composed.
After all, they were still inside Konoha, in the middle of a street. No one would dare cause real trouble here.
Yet, to Yoru's surprise, the Chūnin actually did.
"You're that outsider, aren't you? The one who survived after your village was wiped out and got taken in by Konoha? Yoru, was it?"
The Chūnin's tone was condescending, his arrogance practically dripping from his words.
He was clearly here to pick a fight, and he was a Chūnin at that. Despite this, Yoru's expression only grew calmer.
At the same time, he quickly ran through possible reasons in his mind.
He wasn't well-liked in Konoha, but he hadn't provoked anyone either.
Wait...
Suddenly, Yoru recalled something from over a month ago—his fight with Uchiha Izumiya at the Ninja Academy.
At that time, Izumiya had tried to kill him, even using a Fireball Jutsu, so Yoru naturally hadn't held back. By the end of the fight, Izumiya had multiple broken bones.
He'd probably been bedridden for at least a month.
So this guy was most likely from the Uchiha clan.
"What's your relation to Uchiha Izumiya?"
Yoru didn't answer the Chūnin's question and instead asked his own.
The man's eyes flickered slightly, as if surprised that Yoru had guessed so quickly.
"I am Uchiha Kan, Uchiha Izumiya's older brother. Since you figured it out, then go ahead and break one of your own arms."
Uchiha Kan's tone was indifferent, as if his demand was only natural.
Hearing this, Yoru was momentarily stunned.
So this was the Uchiha clan?
How outrageously arrogant!